The present invention relates to asynchronous video messaging, and in particular, to a method and system for conveying video messages. The invention also relates to a computer program product including a computer readable medium having recorded thereon a computer program for conveying video messages.
There is currently a boom in the use of asynchronous messaging technologies including email and voice-mail. An exceptional volume of messages sent and received by corporate and government workers have meant changes in the way in which people structure their day and has put an emphasis on managing information flow. The high level of messaging is attributed in part to the current difficulty in scheduling synchronous communication (face-to-face, telephone, videoconference, etc). Synchronous communication is considered a luxury put aside for relationship building and immediate closure whereas asynchronous communication is used for most other communication.
Video messaging refers to asynchronous video communication, that is, there is a delay between the generation of a message and its delivery, and typically, communication is not simultaneously bi-directional, as opposed to the synchronous communication of person-to-person telephone calls or video conferencing.
Currently, video email products such as xe2x80x9cSeeMailxe2x80x9d by RealMedia Inc. or xe2x80x9cVideoLink Mailxe2x80x9d by Smith Micro Software Inc are good examples of the state of the art video messaging technology and are largely simple packages which are distributed with video capture cards or sold separately and support the basic capture and sending of a video message as an email attachment or as the main body of an email. These packages, however, do not take advantage of the unique qualities of this kind of message to provide support for effective communication, but instead, rely on the conventional capture and usage model of linear video. Even where video and/or audio editing capabilities may be provided, it is typical that the sender, if wishing to review a message, or a recipient, must conform to the constraints of the conventional linear playing method for video messages.
Video is a time-based medium and typically requires time equal to its duration to view fully, although there are some video/audio fast-play technologies available which provide a particular solution to the dilemma of enforced linear replay of video/audio material, but these amount to fast cuing or fast forwarding of the linear video message. Conventional video is a difficult medium to navigate through and manipulate. For example, one possible use for video messages is for a sender to send a weekly report to one or more recipients. Such a weekly report can contain, scattered through its content, a set of actions for the various recipients of the message. A recipient might view the whole message once initially, and need to subsequently access parts of the message when ready to perform the actions requested. Doing this with a conventional video cassette recorder-style (VCR-style) interface is very inefficient and in most practical situations time consuming.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to ameliorate one or more disadvantages of the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of conveying a video message comprising the steps of:
(i) capturing video data comprising at least image data and associated audio data;
(ii) creating a video message structure;
(iii) establishing a link between said structure and the video data to create a structured video message, said structured video message being characterized by a video message structure that provides an originator, of the message, enhanced manipulation capabilities for the video data by manipulating said structure; and
(iv) conveying the structured video message to a recipient for viewing and/or for providing said recipient substantially the same enhanced manipulation capabilities.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for conveying a video message, said apparatus comprising:
capturing means for capturing video data comprising at least image data and associated audio data;
processing means for creating a video message structure and establishing a link between said structure and the video data to create a structured video message, said structured video message being characterized by a video message structure that provides an originator, of the message, enhanced manipulation capabilities for the video data by manipulating said structure; and
means for conveying the structured video message to a recipient for viewing and/or for providing said recipient substantially the same enhanced manipulation capabilities.
According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable memory medium for storing a program for apparatus which processes data, said processing comprising a method of conveying a video message, said program comprising:
code for capturing video data comprising at least image data and associated audio data;
code for creating a video message structure;
code for establishing a link between said structure and the video data to create a structured video message, said structured video message being characterized by a video message structure that provides an originator, of the message, enhanced manipulation capabilities for the video data by manipulating said structure; and
code for conveying the structured video message to a recipient for viewing and/or for providing said recipient substantially the same enhanced manipulation capabilities.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of creating a video message comprising the steps of;
providing a video message structure including at least one node;
providing video data, said video data comprising at least image data and associated audio data;
associating at least one node of the video message structure with at least one segment of the video data to provide an associated structure; and
utilizing the associated structure to provide enhanced manipulation capabilities of the video data to create a structured video message.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of creating a video message comprising the steps of;
creating a video message structure including at least one node;
capturing video data, said video data comprising at least image data and audio data;
linking at least one node of the video message structure with at least one segment of the video data to provide an associated structure;
storing the video data and the video message structure; and
utilizing the associated structure to provide enhanced manipulation capabilities of the video data to create a structured video message.
According to a sixth aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for creating a video message comprising;
means for creating a video message structure including at least one node;
means for capturing video data, said video data comprising at least image data and audio data;
means for linking at least one node of the video message structure with at least one segment of the video data to provide an associated structure;
means for storing the video data and the video message structure; and
means for utilizing the associated structure to provide enhanced manipulation capabilities of the video data to create a structured video message.
According to a seventh aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for creating a video message comprising;
a video camera and capture manager for capturing video data, said video data comprising at least image data and audio data;
a message structure editor for creating a video message structure and for associating the video message structure with at least one segment of the video data to provide an associated structure;
a storage device for storing said video data and the video message structure; and
manipulation means for using the associated structure to provide enhanced manipulation capabilities of the video data to create a structured video message.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable memory medium storing a program for apparatus which processes data, said processing comprising a method of creating a video message, said program comprising:
code for creating a video message structure including at least one node;
code for capturing video data, said video data comprising at least image data and audio data;
code for linking at least one node of the video message structure with at least one segment of the video data to provide an associated structure;
code for storing the video data and the video message structure; and
code for utilizing the associated structure to provided enhanced manipulation capabilities of the video data to create a structured video message.
According to a ninth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of conveying a video message comprising the steps of:
providing video data comprising at least image data and associated audio data;
providing a video message structure;
establishing a link between said structure and the video data to provide a structured video message, said structured video message being characterized by a video message structure that provides an originator, of the message, enhanced manipulation capabilities for the video data by manipulating said structure; and
conveying the structured video message to a recipient for viewing and/or for providing said recipient substantially the same enhanced manipulation capabilities.
According to a tenth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of conveying a video message over a network, wherein said video message includes at least a video image and an associated audio message, said method including the steps of:
capturing said video message on a first apparatus;
processing said captured video message to provide a structured video message, wherein said structured video message is represented as a structure to allow originator labelling, navigation, editing and annotation capabilities;
transmitting over said network the structured video message to at least one second apparatus;
receiving said structured video message at the at least one second apparatus; and
processing and viewing said received structured video message by a recipient in accordance with said structure.
According to a eleventh aspect of the invention there is provided a system for conveying a video message, wherein said video message includes at least a video image and an associated audio message, said system including:
at least one first apparatus including:
capturing means for capturing said video message;
processing means for processing the captured video message to provide a structured video message, wherein said structured video message is represented as a structure that allows originator labelling, navigation, editing and annotation capabilities; and
means for transmitting the structured video message to at least one second apparatus, said second apparatus including:
means for receiving said structured video message; and
means for processing and viewing by a recipient said received structured video message in accordance with said structure.
According to a twelfth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium for storing a program for apparatus which processes data, said processing comprising a method of conveying a video message over a network, wherein said video message includes at least a video image and an associated audio message, said program comprising:
code for capturing said video message on a first apparatus;
means for processing said captured video message to provide a structured video message, wherein said structured video message is represented as a structure to allow originator labelling, navigation, editing and annotation capabilities; and
code for transmitting the structured video message to at least one second apparatus;
code for receiving said structured video message at the at least one second apparatus;
code for processing and viewing, by a recipient, said received structured video message in accordance with said structure.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of creating a structured video message comprising the steps of:
providing a video message structure; and
capturing video data in accordance with said video message structure to produce a structured video message.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for creating a structured video message comprising:
means for providing a video message structure; and
means for capturing video data in accordance with said video message structure to produce a structured video message.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for capturing a video message comprising:
a video camera unit for capturing video data;
a capture manager responsive to capture commands for controlling the video camera unit and receiving the captured video data;
a user input interface for generating user commands; and
a message structure editor responsive to said user commands for providing a video message structure, generating said capture commands and for associating the video message structure with at least one segment of the captured video data to provide a structured video message.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium for storing a program for apparatus which processes data, said processing comprising a method of creating a structured video message, said program comprising:
code which is responsive to capture commands for capturing video data;
code for generating user commands; and
code which is responsive to said user commands for providing a video message structure, generating said capture commands and for associating the video message structure with at least one segment of the captured video data to provide a structured video message.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of editing a video message wherein said video message is represented as a video message structure including a plurality of nodes, said method including the steps of:
storing said video message in a memory;
displaying said video message structure; and
manipulating said nodes to place said video message in a desired format, wherein at least one node represents a segment of said video message.
According to a eighteenth aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for editing a video message wherein said video message is represented as a video message structure including a plurality of nodes, said apparatus including:
means for storing said video message in a memory;
means for displaying said video message structure; and
means for manipulating said nodes to place said video message in a desired format, wherein at least one node represents a segment of said video message.
According to a nineteenth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium for storing a program for apparatus which processes data, said processing comprising a method of editing a video message wherein said video message is represented as a video message structure including a plurality of nodes, said program comprising:
code for storing said video message in a memory;
code for displaying said video message structure; and
code for manipulating said nodes to place said video message in a desired format, wherein at least one node represents a segment of said video message.
According to a twentieth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of generating a video message structure for a video message, said video message including video data comprising image data and associated audio data, the method including the steps of:
providing a message template; and
executing said message template to generate a video message structure having a plurality of nodes, each said node being capable of representing a segment of video data of said video message.
According to a twenty-first aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for generating a video message structure for a video message, said video message including video data comprising image data and associated audio data, the apparatus comprising:
means for providing a message template; and
means for executing said message template to generate a video message structure having a plurality of nodes, each said node being capable of representing a segment of video data of said video message.
According to a twenty-second aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium for storing a program for apparatus which processes data, said processing comprising a method of generating a video message structure for a video message, said video message including video data comprising image data and associated audio data, said program comprising:
code for providing a message template; and
code for executing said message template to generate a video message structure having a plurality of nodes, each said node being capable of representing a segment of video data of said video message.
According to a twenty-third aspect of the invention there is provided a method of conveying a video message including the steps of:
capturing video data on a first apparatus, wherein said video data includes at least image data and associated audio data;
processing said captured video data to provide a video message, wherein said video message includes said captured video data and a first video message structure being a first instantiation of a message template;
transmitting said video data and said message template to at least one second apparatus;
receiving the video data and the message template at the second apparatus;
processing said video data to provide a corresponding video message, wherein said corresponding video message includes said video data and a second video message structure being a second instantiation of said message template; and
viewing said corresponding video message.
According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a system for conveying a video message including:
at least one first apparatus including:
capturing means for capturing video, wherein said video data includes at least image data and associated audio data;
processing means for processing said captured video data to provide a video message, wherein said video message includes said captured video data and a first video message structure, said first structure being a first instantiation of a message template;
means for transmitting the structured video message to at least one second apparatus, said second apparatus including:
means for receiving the video data and the message template at the second apparatus;
means for processing said video data to provide a corresponding video message, wherein said corresponding video message includes said video data and a second video message structure being a second instantiation of said message template; and
means for viewing said corresponding video message.
According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium for storing a program for apparatus which processes data, said processing comprising a method of conveying a video message, said video message including video data comprising image data and associated audio data, said program comprising:
code for capturing video data on a first apparatus, wherein said video data includes at least image data and associated audio data;
code for processing said captured video data to provide a video message, wherein said video message includes said captured video data and a first video message structure being a first instantiation of a message template;
code for transmitting said video data and said message template to at least one second apparatus;
code for receiving the video data and the message template at the second apparatus;
code for processing said video data to provide a corresponding video message, wherein said corresponding video message includes said video data and a second video message structure being a second instantiation of said message template; and
code for viewing said corresponding video message.